Reclaiming or distilling apparatus



No'v. 20, l1934. c. P. TOLMAN 1,981,480

I RECLAIMING OR DISTILLING APPARATUS I l Filed sept. 17, 1951 f/ l INVENToR (7m/n fs P TOL/VAN Patented Nov. 2Q, 1.9134

REoLArMrNG R DIsriLLnvG APPARATUS Charles P. Tolrnan, Kew Gardens, N. Y., assigner', by mesne assignments, to Columbia Appliance Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 17, 1931, Serial No. 563,389

4 Claims. (Cl. 202-261) The present invention relates to an improvement in re-claiining or distilling apparatus, more particularly of the type in which liquids, such as solvents containing impurities or other separat- 5 able substances, are cleaned, re-claimed, or seprated from said other substances by a distillation process involving the use of heat and the subsequent removal or condensation oi the vapors.

In the art of'dry cleaning, it is common practice to purify or re-claim the solvent utilized in removing grease and dirt from the dry cleaned fabrics. Where this re-claiming process involves distillation of the solvent or cleaning liquid, considerable diiculty is experienced in removing the accumulation of residue from the bottom of the vaporizing portion of the still. In dry cleaning establishments these residues commonly include deposits of waxes, dirt, grease and oils, although it will be apparent that the character of the residue or accumulations will vary with the character and/ or circumstances of use of any given solvent. One undesirable feature of known types of stills utilized in the dry cleaning industry at the present time is that the removal of residues is a dirty and unpleasant job during which the operators hands and clothing are usually soiled, thus necessitating a complete cleansing and changing, with the alternative of soiling the ne or cleaned fabrics which are handled by the same operator. Another and perhaps greater disadvantage in present day stills of the type here considered, is that the operation of removing residues involves the removal and loss of a relatively large volume of the solvent as well. In installations utilizing relatively expensive solvent, such as trichlorethylene, the loss from this operation becomes quite substantial. In the case of a small dry cleaning unit having a re-claiming device, the loss of solvent incident to each cleaning of the still bottom has averaged approximately three gallons of solvent, costing $1.50 per gallon. This waste imposes an undue and unnecessary hardship upon the users of dry cleaning apparatus; and it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide means whereby the removal of residue can be accomplished with a minimum waste of solvent and with little or no likelihood that the operators hands and clothing will be unduly soiled by contact with the residues.

The diculties attendant upon cleaning stills of types now known differ somewhat, depending upon whether the cleaning out operation is performed when the still is hot or when it is cold. 55 With the temperature of the residues and solvent mixed therewith sufficiently high, a large part of the waxes and oils therein may be sufficiently fluid to be easily removed through an ordinary drain,l 01T. One objection to cleaning while hot is that ordinarily the fumes of hot solvents are extremely disagreeable and in many instances may be dangerously inflammable. This of course, would pre' vent in many cases the possibility oi' any residue removal while the still is heated. When the still is cold, a considerable quantity oi the heavier 65,v waxes and some of the greases will solidify and attach themselves to the bottom of the still. This means that such residues must be scraped out of the bottom of the still with the attendant dirt and other objectionable features hereinabove referred to.

To overcome thediiculties above mentione and others, my improved re-claiming or distilling f apparatus is provided with a removable bottom member in the form of a sump or residue chamber positioned and adapted to accumulate and concentrate, in normal still operation, the great bulk of residues and with a minimum of solvent liquid. From time to time, the sump is bodily removed from engagement with the still and its accumulated residues are dumped out and disposed of, I also provide means for conveniently draining all liquid from the tank so that removal of the sump from the bottom of the tank is not accompanied by a discharge or overflow of unvaporized liquid or dirty solvent. Further means are also provided to disclose the 'presence in the tank of excess or undrained liquid in case the operator has neglected to withdraw it prior to detaching the sump. Other novel and advanta-y 0' geous features or" my invention will be more apparent from a consideration of the iolowing specication and the drawing appended thereto, and. in whichz- Figure 1 is a side elevation, and

Figurev 2 an enlarged detail in vertical section of a sump or residue chamber forming part of the structure illustrated in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, one embodiment of my invention includes a vaporizer or tank 1, provided with a heating coil 2 and having a bottom wall 3 provided with a threaded downwardly disposed annular flange 13 having an opening 4s. A sump 5 is detachably connected to the tank l in such way, as by a iiange ll threaded in opening 4, to receive deposits of residue resulting from vaporization of solvent or other vaporizable liquid in tank 1, said residue being delivered into the sump 5 through the opening 14 of flange 11 thereof. A drain 6, provided with a valve '7, eX- tends through a wall of the sump 5 and has an inlet opening 8 exposed within the sump and at a level lower than the levell of the upper edge of the sump or'the lower edge of the opening 4. Thus, `after a given periodof operation of the still with` the sump fixed in position, any unvaporized solvent or other liquid remaining in the bottom and above the opening 8 may be withdrawn through the valve 7 and drain 6 prior to removing vthe 'sump 5 Ordinarily, in reclaiming operations related to dry cleaning, for example, the unvaporized solvent` isdumped into the next increment of dirty solvent to be supplied to the still, this process being repeatedv as often as necessary.

The sump 5 is also provided with handles 9 conveniently accessible to the operator.' The projecting handles, as shown, will be suitable for constructions in which the sump is secured to the bottom of the still by threaded engagement therewith, although it is contemplated that any suitable form of union between the sump and the tank` l may be employed.

Under some conditions it may happen that the operator will neglect to drain oil the excess liquid lying above the inlet opening 8 of the drain 6 be- `fore unscrewing or detaching the sump. This would, of course, cause such excess to overflow or discharge rapidly through the opening 4 in an uncontrolled stream, thus spreading the dirty or unvaporized liquid or solvent and materials openings 10 located in such way that they are therein suspended over the oor and possibly causing other damage. To avoid this possibility, I provide telltale means whereby the presence of the excess liquid is indicated in such manner that the operators attention is called thereto before the sump is completely disconnected from the tank l. In one embodiment of my invention this result is accomplished by providing one or more closed when the sump is secured in operative position but are open as soon as the sump is partially released from the tank l. Thus, in the form shown in Figure l., the sump 5 is provided with a threaded flange 11 through which the openings 10 extend, being located adjacent to the packing ring 12.*v It will be apparent that as soon as the operator begins to unscrew the sump 5, the openings 10 willbe gradually exposed below the lower edge of the bottom flange of tank or still 1 and, if there is any undischarged liquid above the level of inlet opening 8, it will trickle out through said openings, thus warning the operator that he must drain the remaining liquid in the manner above set forth, before further detaching the sump 5.

In addition to the advantages above referred to in connection with the use of my improved apparatus, where the wall of the sump is constructed of relatively thin or freely conductive material, such as copper, brass or the like, the temperature of the material in the sump,` by reason of rapid radiation, can be maintained substantially lower than the rtemperature of the contents of the still above the sump, so that heavier residues such as wax and dirt particles will be promptly removed from the actual zone of vaporization and will solidify more rapidly than would be the case where the residue is accumulated in the tank proper, Furthermore, where the sump is positioned below the vaporizing Zone asshown, the convection currents normally present will be such as to direct the solid particles toward the opening 4.

I claim:

1. In a still, the combination of a vaporizing chamber. having a bottom wall'provided with an opening, a residue chamber having a top opening and being connected to said vaporizing chamber and in free communication therewith through said openings, and a valve controlled drain pipe extending through a wall of the residue chamber and presenting an inlet opening below the level of the opening in said bottom wall of the Vaporizing chamber and above the bottom of the residue chamber whereby the contents of the vaporizing chamber may be drained through said pipe without draining the contents of the residue chamber.

2. In a still, the combination of a vaporizing chamber having a bottom wall provided with an opening, a residue chamber having a top opening and being detachably connected tosaid vaporizing chamberand in free communication therewith through said openings, one of said chambers having an yannular ilange surrounding its opening sor and releasably engaging the other chamber and connecting the interiors of said chambers through said openings, said flange having a discharge port positioned to be closed by a portion of said other chamber when said residue chamber is operatively connected to said vaporizing chamber and to be opened when the residue chamber is partially disengaged therefrom. l v

3. In a still, the combination of a vaporizing chamber having a bottom wall provided with an opening, a residue chamber having a top opening and being detachably connected to said vaporizing chamber and in free communication therewith through said openings, one of said chambers having anA annular flange surrounding its opening andfreleasably engaging theother lchamber and connecting the interiors of said chambers throughl said openings, said flange having a discharge port positioned to be closed by a portion of said other chamber when said residue chamber is operatively connectedv to said vaporizing chamber and to be opened when the residue chamber is partially disengaged therefrom, and a valve controlled drain pipe extending through a wall of the residue chamber and presenting an inlet opening below, said ange.

4. In a still, the combination of a vaporizing chamber having a-bottom wall provided with an opening, a residue chamber having a top -opening and being detachably c onnected to said vaporizing chamber and in free communication therewith through'said openings, said vaporizing 

